A Happy Ending
by Lawi01
Summary: UK VERSION! A quick Dawn/Tim oneshot on what happened after the Christmas party.


**HapppA/N: OK, so **_**basically **_**I devoted two days of my holidays to just watching both series of BBC's **_**The Office**_**, and asdfghjkl WORDS DO NOT IMPLY HOW MUCH I LOVE TIM AND DAWN OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T WATCH THIS SOONER FSKHSDGJKSHKSJHA so, naturally after watching the Christmas specials I was a very happy, if not very teary little shipper. The only thing that bothered me was that Dawn kind of kissed Tim, walked out with him, got the photo with him and that was pretty much it for them. I mean, I know David's story was kind of the focus for the entire series and Tim and Dawn's story was just an add-on, if you will, and don't get me wrong I absolutely **_**loved **_**the way that Tim and Dawn finally got together, but I wish that their story had been a little more rounded-off, I guess, because to me it felt like Ricky and Steve were just like 'Right, they're together now, moving on' which bothered me because a) I am just a very hardcore shipper, and b) Tim and Dawn getting together was a major thing in the series, so it was kind of stupid, I think, for them to just leave it like that. So, this is my own little ending to the Christmas special. Lots of fluff and largely my own ideas on Tim and Dawn's future together. I'M THE WRITER, I'LL DO WHAT I WANT! Except Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant actually own all the characters here. As ever, please review and enjoy!**

**Oh yes, and also- is the American version any good? I know it's got more series, etc, but it just seems to me like a somewhat pointless replica of the British version, except… well, American. And in my mind I don't think that any American couple can ever replicate Tim and Dawn's relationship because Lucy Davis and Martin Freeman are just perfect, as are their characters, but that's just me. Anyway, please let me know what you think! Of the American version, I mean. But your opinion on the story would be great too.**

**OK, now I'll seriously shut up and let you read this.**

When Dawn magically re-appeared at Tim's shoulder after apparently having gone back to America with Lee forever, he was surprised, curious and- he may as well admit it- a little bit hopeful. When her face was less than an inch from his, his heart was beating like a drum. And when she kissed him his mind went blank for a second before exploding into a thousand fireworks. He was conscious of nothing else but Dawn's lips on his, the warmth of her body so close to him. It was, without a doubt, the most blissful moment of his life.

So naturally, Gareth just _had _to ruin it.

"Careful." His voice tore Dawn and Tim apart, and if looks could kill Gareth would have been dead twenty times over with the glare Tim gave him. "She's got a fiancée."

If his limbs hadn't felt so heavy and his mind so fuzzy at that moment, Tim was sure he would have punched the pathetic sod in the face right then and there. But then Dawn spoke, and the words that came from her mouth lifted Tim higher than any aeroplane and in spite of his almost drugged state he suddenly felt weightless.

"No, I don't. Not anymore."

She had left Lee. _She had left Lee for Tim_. He remembered the teasing that had followed his first attempt to ask Dawn out, the mortification of seeing himself tell her how he really felt in front of England. Tim remembered saying not so long ago in an interview that he wouldn't ask her again, and if anyone was going to ask anyone anything it would have to be Dawn that did the asking. He remembered the sinking sensation in his stomach when he actually realized that would never happen, and trying to disguise what was actually going on in his head from the camera. And with a burst of delight he realized that all of this, right now, would also be shown on TV to all of England, and in a way he would have proved everyone wrong. He couldn't deny a slight feeling of satisfaction, too, at realizing that Lee might see it too. Or if not, certainly be reminded of it.

Tim could have done some sort of victory celebration in front of the cameras right there, but then he remembered what it all meant. Dawn was his now, and he was Dawn's. And _nothing_- not the satisfaction of proving everyone wrong, not the vicious delight of in shoving it in Lee's face- _nothing _could outweigh how happy he was at that moment.

The thought seemed to clear his head a little, and when Dawn kissed him again Tim was actually able to respond. Once again the world around him melted away, and he didn't care how many people were watching- Gareth, David, the cameras, Lee's mates, whatever. He kissed her back, and not because he wanted to be able to show it off to his family later on TV or indirectly rub it in Lee's face. In an instant, none of that mattered to him anymore. He kissed her back because he was free to do so now. He kissed her back because it was something he had wanted to do for years. He kissed her back because she was Dawn, and even long before any instinct had taken him over to ask her out he had loved her. God, he had always loved Dawn Tinsley. But loving someone, he knew, didn't really count unless they loved you back, and if they did then in his eyes it was the most precious gift a human could receive. And if he loved Dawn- which he did- and if she loved him back- which he now couldn't help but believe whole-heartedly- then he was going to hold her tight and never let her go, because after so many years and so many hopeless dreams and wishes she was finally his. And at that moment nothing else in the world could have been more important than that.

Dawn resurfaced first, jolting Tim back into the real world. Part of him was convinced that he could have stayed that way forever, but seeking her presence as ever he pressed his forehead against hers. She didn't move away, seeming to fall into him as easily as he fell into her. They were like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that had gone missing but had at long last been put together. There was an irreplaceable feeling of rightness about standing with her, something he had felt for years whenever he was around her but never been able to explore.

Her hand snaked down to his and their fingers intertwined; they moved as one to the door. Dawn glanced around the room as if challenging anyone who dared to tear them apart (her gaze, Tim noted, lingered particularly on Lee's mates from the warehouse), but no-one did. Some half-formed, almost knowing smiles seemed to flicker on people's lips. But other than those little smiles and his still-pounding heartbeat, you wouldn't have guessed that Tim's life had just been completely flipped upside-down. The music, and the eyes of some of the more nosey Wernham Hogg employees, followed them out, but that was all. Even the camera people had the decency not to follow them, something Tim was incredibly grateful for considering what had happened the last time had had left a room to talk to Dawn.

They moved a little way down the hall before Dawn turned and threw her arms around Tim's middle, burying her face in his chest. Without hesitation he hugged her back, pressing his lips into her blonde hair.

"God, Tim, I'm so sorry." Her voice was a little muffled, but there was no mistaking what he had heard.

Tim's brows furrowed and he squeezed Dawn's shoulder. "Sorry?" he murmured. "What the hell could you possibly be sorry for?"

Dawn made the kind of short, sniffly, gaspy laugh you tend to get from crying people. Tim immediately held her tighter and rubbed her shoulder soothingly. "I was an idiot, I should've- God, I should've done this ages ago!" She laughed a little more steadily now. Tim smiled too, feeling the warmth of both her words and her being resonate through him.

"Better late than never," he said softly, kissing the top of her head.

Dawn straightened and wiped her eyes with one hand. For the first time, Tim noticed that in the other she held the paint set he had bought her and the scrap of paper that held the portrait she had drawn of him. His Secret Santa present to her. She smiled at him, and even though it certainly wasn't the first time she had ever smiled at Tim it felt like a thousand fireworks going off again. "Thanks for the paint," she said. "It was- the paint was what convinced me."

Tim lazily draped his shoulders over Dawn's shoulders and swayed lightly from left to right, as though they were back inside the office dancing like the other couples. She grinned and played along, resting her hands at his waist and clutching her paint set between them at his back. "Convinced you of what?" he asked softly.

Dawn rolled her eyes and tapped his back lightly with her paint set. "You know bloody well what," she mumbled, avoiding his eye and smiling at the ground.

Tim went serious again, uncertain of whether or not he should ask. Eventually, though, curiosity got the better of him. "What about Lee?" he asked quietly.

Dawn looked up at him, and he couldn't detect any trace of hurt at the question in her eyes. "What about him?" she asked simply. "I'd been engaged for almost six years, you'd think I would've figured out that it would have never happened sooner." She chewed her lip for a moment, as if contemplating whether or not she should speak. Eventually, she did: "Lee was… When I was with Lee I couldn't see things working out any other way. But I guess the tables have turned now." She looked up at Tim almost shyly.

"How so?" Tim asked.

Dawn shrugged, watching their feet again. "For lack of a better word, Lee was a bit of an asshole," she said contemplatively after a while.

Tim couldn't supress his laugh. "Is it bad if I agree?" he wondered aloud.

Dawn grinned and slapped his back lightly again with the paints. "Probably," she admitted before lifting her eyes to Tim again. "But I don't suppose it really matters now, does it?"

"Let's hope not," Tim smiled, pecking Dawn's forehead. They stayed there for a while, swaying there from side to side with Tim's lips pressed into her forehead.

"What happens next?" Dawn asked after a while.

Tim straightened and looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"For us," Dawn elaborated. "What are we going to do next?"

Tim blew out his cheeks in a sigh. "Well, all of your stuff is either at Lee's mum's house or Lee's sister's house in Florida and somehow I _don't _get the feeling his family is going to be up for helping you out. Speaking of Florida, to my knowledge that's the only house you've actually got and it _is _an eight-hour flight away which _could _pose a slight problem because I'm not letting you leave Slough ever again, Miss Tinsley."

"I could move in with you," Dawn pointed out.

"Oh yes," Tim said, smacking his lips. "Yes, I'm sure my parents will love that. You, Miss Tinsley, get the honour of being the first girl I've brought home in… God, I've lost count of the years. Honestly, it's probably for your own safety that you don't move in with my family. They'd probably go mental. Not that they aren't always mental, but you get the idea. Not exactly Florida," he finished with a slight shake of his head.

Dawn laughed. "OK, so we buy an apartment or something."

Tim glanced at her doubtfully. "You're seriously considering moving in with your boyfriend within an hour of actually… uh, _being _with him?"

Dawn smiled. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she said sweetly. "You're my best friend, Tim. And admit it, you're thinking the same thing too."

"Yeah, OK, I was," Tim admitted with a shrug. "But how're we going to afford that?"

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "How much of your wages do you actually spend?"

"Not much," Tim admitted. "And I'm sure that once we get you set up as an illustrator we'll have more than enough to get by."

A smile lit up Dawn's face. "You reckon I could do it?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"I know you could," Tim said with a slight snort, like it was a stupid question.

Dawn shrugged. "We could get Gareth to put me back in reception again if we need any more money," she suggested. "I've missed winding him up with you."

Tim smiled. "Look, I'm honestly behind you- one hundred and ten per-cent- whatever you decide to do. Just don't give up on the drawing."

"I won't," Dawn promised, pecking his lips lightly as if to seal the deal.

"What'll we do about your stuff, though?" Tim asked again.

Dawn pulled an uncertain face. "Show up at Lee's place tomorrow and ask very politely for my stuff back?"

Tim grinned. "I'll come with you. Scare him off, protect you from all the baddies." He moved his arms sharply, as if delivering two punches.

Dawn snorted. "Oh yeah, because you're absolutely terrifying," she said sarcastically.

"I am!" Tim cried indignantly. "Why else do you think I have no friends? They're- they run for the hills with their tails between their legs when I turn up!"

Dawn chuckled quietly and pulled Tim a little tighter. "Well I'm not running anywhere," she told him quietly and reached up to kiss him.

He couldn't bite back his smile as they swayed there together to the muffled music wafting out from the office where they had met, laughed together, said their fair shares of goodbyes and hellos and at long last finally come together as the couple Tim had only ever dreamed of.


End file.
